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Ok as you all know...well most of you I have 7 sons....and today I had to have a serious sit down hug him talk with my 11 yr old who has a eatting problem. He is so into sports and latly I can see all he thinks about is what he can eat.So today when he came home from school I had a snack ready for them all a healthy one....he ate then ..next thing I knew it he had a slice of pie....then a piece of angel food cake...and so on.....finally when I cought him going for one more snack I said "hun you have to stop...." I told him he was just eatting to eat and couldnt possible be hungry....wellthat lead to him crying....saying your always picking on me mom...OMG made me cry...and then we went out sat in the swing and talked....I told him ow I so dont want to see him ever have to be where I am now...and I pointed out my nephew who also is very heavy...I reminded him how athletic he is and how it will get harder and harder to run....heck I told him how I couldnt walk with out holding on to his brothers wheel chair just to lean on it....So after the tears were dryed....we got on line did a BMI chart for kids....got his and then we made a shopping list together....after football practice dad "J" and mom went shopping...He is very excited to be my healthy eatting partner....and I told him I bet in a month or 2 I can buy him one of his first pairs of skinny jeans....and we can toss the gym pants ....It was a hard afternon but I think he is excited now....I know I am....God Love Him....cuz I sure do !

Well this morning my hubby went with me to my 3 hour appointment with Dr. Gluck, his Nurses, his nutritionist, and about 8 other people who are scheduled to have their surgeries with in a few days of mine. We talked about what we can expect the 2 weeks on the liquid diet, what we can ,and can't eat the next 5 weeks. We talked about the sleeve, and what was going to be done to us during getting sleeved. Signed some permission papers making SURE we understand any and all the possible risks. That part is kind of scary, but I'm counting on my faith in the Lord to see me through! I start my liquid diet this coming Tuesday, and I know it won't be easy, but I'm sure I can do it! On another note, Dr. Gluck was VERY pleased with me on the weight I lost these passed 7 months (40+ pounds!) He said I'm the perfect person to get the sleeve, because he can tell I'm serious about my weight loss and exercise. I know the sleeve is a great "TOOL" to help me get down to where I want to be, and make it easier to stay there! I know I can lose weight, because I have done it many times, but never more than 50 pounds at any one time, and it never stayed off! The sleeve will help me to continue to eat less, and eat healthier! I'm ready for 2013 to be a great new year, with a great NEW ME! I'll be able to live my life without limits, instead of a life of just existing . Know what I mean? I can't wait to be able to do more things with my wonderful husband of 35 years, our awesome kids, and our super special grand kids! The sky is the limit! Ready or not world, here I come!

This week has been extremely busy at work. I haven’t been getting home till almost 7pm each night and before I know it the evening is gone and midnight is around the corner. I have had no time for my LBT friends and boy do I miss it!! This is the first time since being banded that life has got hectic on me. Did it affect my band? I think so, I have suffered from what I call last bites syndrome. Similar to first bite syndrome when you are so hungry that your first bite is too big and not chewed enough…. You know what that is like. Well, last bite syndrome is when you only have 1 or 2 bites left on your plate and you quickly stuff them in your mouth, don’t chew enough & swallow as you are taking places to the kitchen to wash…. Ughhh. I’ve done this a couple of times this week simply because I wanted to get things done & rushed my meal time. Boy it is the most discomforting feeling, the weight on the chest, the extra saliva in the mouth. All I can do is wait it out. I am to blame for the discomfort, my own impatients. It is so easy to do, hurt yourself (and your band) by being careless. The band does forgive, however as this week goes on I find my band getting tighter & tighter. Stress of the week? Sinus drainage from my head cold last week? Is it in my head? These questions start running through my mind. I can eat and drink (as long as I slow down and follow the rules), so I know it’s not too tight. I look forward to the weekend and relaxing!!!! Hopefully spend some time catching up with my LBT friends…..I miss you guys!

It's been six months since my doctor removed 85% of my stomach. Since then, I haven't had any regrets...unless you take in consideration the thought that went through my head when I woke up while they were removing my breathing tube. But I don't count that since I was all drugged up and not thinking straight. Also, having Nurse Hatchet didn't help matters. However, with fall here and winter around the corner, I have to admit, there are a times I miss it a little. Not much, only a little bit. Like, I wish I had 25% of my stomach instead of 15%. Now, before you all go jumping on my back allow me to explain. Tonight for dinner I made homemade chicken and dumplings. Now, that's bad enough for a sleever but I had to add more temptation to the mix. I had to make corn bread from scratch as well. I mean come on, you can't have one with out the other. It's just not Southern!!!! No self respecting Southerner would make chicken and dumplings with out making cornbread. And, though I'm not quite Southern...I'm below the Mason-Dixon line, so I'm close enough. LOL Also, I started feeling bad for my husband. Since my surgery, his diet has consisted of PB&Js and chicken. Not at the same time. But considering he's a meat and potato man, it's been a hard six months for him. He considers it a treat if I stop at McDonald's for him. Which is VERY hard for me as the smell has always turned my stomach but after surgery it's even worse. So, I decided that if I were going to make him eat chicken again, I would make something he enjoys. I thought I would be fine with it. I know I can have about 1/4 a cup (a little less) of the chicken and dumplings (mostly chicken...maybe one or two dumplings) and maybe a bite of two of the cornbread. The problem is, I had forgotten how much I love both of these things. This is one thing my tastes buds did not change their opinion of....which isn't a good thing. Why couldn't they find both as disgusting as they find Whey protein? Or better yet, like Whey protein and hate the other? So, after a little nibble of cornbread (a very little nibble), I wanted to eat the whole pan! This is the first time in six months that I've wanted to just gorge myself. Then, top it off with the chicken and dumplings and I actually had the thought of, "Man, I wish I had my stomach right now!" WHAT??? Why am I thinking thoughts like this? I know I won't over eat any of this yummy stuff in my kitchen but the thought of, "I would if I could", crossed my mind more than once. Now, the reason I find this so strange is that I have always been a carb fanatic. I loved bread and pasta. I could eat a whole loaf of fresh baked bread in one sitting with no bad feelings. However, since surgery, I haven't really craved either things. Don't get me wrong, there are times I will have a little less than a 1/2 slice of wheat bread, toasted, with some type of protein but most times, i don't even think about it. That was not the case today. Those simple carbs wanted me and I have to admit, I wanted them. The attraction is still there despite how far we have both moved on with our lives. So, with all this said, it's a good thing I only have 15% of my tummy. Because no matter how good either look, smell or taste....I wouldn't give up my 100+ pound weight loss for either things. That doesn't mean I can't dream about them...and how yummy a big bowl of chicken and dumplings and two or three slices of homemade, buttery cornbread would taste.....yes, I can dream and lose weight or I can eat and slime and possibly stretch my tummy out. I'll take that dream and weight loss any day of the week and twice on Sundays. So readers, have you had anything like this happen to you yet? I think for me it has more to do with fall and winter coming and what I consider "comfort" food. All the warm, cheesy, gooey, stick to your ribs (and add pound after pound to your weight) has always been one if not the only good thing about a cold winter day. Looks like I'm going to have to find something else to take it's place....let's just hope it's not more chicken. I think my husband will finally leave me if I don't come up with something new for us to eat. I swear if he found a woman who cooked like I used to, he'd be a little tempted to cheat on me just for the food. Just kidding....I know he would never do it JUST for the food. LOL

Well back in July 2012 I was having a hard time swallowing and food keep getting stuck in my throat. I went to see my primary doct and he said that I thrush and proscribed me meds to correct the problem. Well after taken the meds I didnt see any improvement, so them I went to see my lapband doct. He removed all the fluids from my band and put me on a liquid diet for a few days. After day 2 started soft foods, but I still had the same problem, so I went back to my lapband doct and he did another barium test. He didnt see any problem and everthing was okay. I waited 2 more day on liquid and tried again with no luck. He scheduled me for a EGD which showed that the band had so much scare tissue that is had not much of an opening for food to go thru and that I had also developed Esophageal Dysmobility and the only way to correct it is to remove the band. After much research, I have decided to remove the band and get a gastric sleeve revision. We submitted the paperwork for insurance approval and crossed our fingers (my insurance is very picky and we have a 1 WLS per life time). We I got the approve last week from my doct and I go to surgery November 1st. Please keep me in your prayers and on your minds as I head to my next course of my weight loss journey. I cant wait to get this over with, Ive been on and liquid diet since July and cant keep most if not all foods down and sometimes I cant keep protein drinks down also. I WILL ALWAYS BE A BANDSTER FOR LIFE.

hi I a so technologically challenged that I rather buy a new laptop than admit it might be me that just cannot work the old one...lol this is me day of surgery and me about a week ago.

In two days I will have been banded four months, and I really really really want to be at a 40lb. loss then. I'm putting this out there into the Universe, so you know...it will come true I would need to lose 2.5 lbs. in the next two days...man, that would be so sweet!

Hi my name is Kelly and I am 33 years old. I am having a Rouxen-Y on October 19, 2012. I am so nervous and excited. I started this process back in Febuary. I guess I thought it would take a long time. But my experience has been very different. It seems to gone very fast. Don't get me wrong I am happy about this just need to take a few deep breaths. This journey has not been without a couple bumps in the road which included a broken ankle and wrist. I am finally out of the walking boot and I trip and fall and break my wrist( so please excuse any typos still have a cast on). So to make a long story short I get my cast of Thursday the 18th. Then I meet with my surgeon for my preop appt and then with the life coach. ALL on Thursday!!!! Then Friday is the big day!!!

So I'm a little slow......just figured out how to create a blog. That's what I get when I only access LBT from my phone & tablet. There are a lot of features that you don't see on the mobile app. Alex we need to be able to update our status, reply to other statuses and access blogs on the mobile app. (Don't think he heard me.) I don't do Facebook or twitter so I'm not sure how stuff like this works, oh well I'll wing it. I am amazed at how far I have come this year. January I was in the biggest depression, I hated my job, I hated myself, honestly I disliked my stepdaughter greatly. The only thing I liked/loved was my dear husband. I went to the doctor for my annual physical and got a huge slap in the face. I was on 3 different high blood pressure meds and my blood pressure was still high and on top of that I was diagnosed pre diabetic. I was so upset after that appointment that I stopped at Starbucks for a large Java chip Frappuccino. That solves everything. The next morning driving to work I heard a radio commercial for True Results and the Lap Band, I started doing some internet research as to what the Lap Band was. Talked with my parents about it (my dad is a retired MD so his advice is gold when it comes to medical stuff). My dad researched some and gave me his blessing on doing the Band. My initial appointment with True Results was the second week in January, my surgery was February 7, 2012. Basically three weeks and it was done. I had no time to reconsider. (That’s the difference between self-pay and insurance) It’s funny I didn’t know about LBT or that different doctors had different diets all I knew was what my doctor had me doing, so I did it. I followed the doctor’s orders; I was losing weight and really knew nothing about the band lifestyle. Then in June I found LBT and started reading. Wow there was so much I didn’t know. I read every post I could find, quickly got Jean’s book and read it. Within the month I felt I had a much better understanding of what I had and how it would work for me. Now here it is October, 9 months later, and I’ve lost 65 pounds. Wow I can’t believe I have done so well. I look in the mirror and often don’t recognize myself. I have no regrets at all, even if the future brings complications with the Band. I love this little tool, my Yellow Rose of Texas.

When I think of diet I think rules & restrictions. You have to eat this; you can’t eat that, you have to drink this; you can’t drink that, etc…. Doctor’s orders are diets, rules that we have to follow. Now the rebellious teenager in me (I know shocking right?!) says “What do you mean I can’t, watch me!” When I think of a lifestyle I think choices, things I want and am willing to try. Lifestyle means changing the way you live for the rest of your life. The level headed adult in me (again, shocking!) says, “I want to change and live a healthier lifestyle”. So what works in my head is I am not on a diet because I have changed my lifestyle. I follow the recommendations (orders) from my doctor and therefore I see success. My new lifestyle does not restrict me for eating the things I love. I have chocolate, cookies, cakes, breads, pasta, potatoes when I want. I enjoy family gatherings (well most of them). I enjoy my new life. This is what works for me!